A Soft Smile
by PelicanGoddess
Summary: Draco Malfoy does not want to be at the Yule Ball. He does not want to have to talk to Viktor Krum. He does not want to see Granger as anything but the mudblood, but he may not have a choice.


Written for a drabble prompt at Sorting Hat Drabbles on LJ.

Of course I own none of this. Don't be silly.

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Draco Malfoy stood at a table covered with (in his opinion a pitiful amount) of snacks and beverages. He'd been at this lousy Yule Ball for nearly an hour and was, frankly, getting rather bored. Pansy had long ago wandered off with her little friends after a disastrous dance towards the beginning of the evening. That girl was all elbows and left feet. If his mother had not been so insistent perhaps he could have avoided this entire evening.

Draco glanced around the room, heaved a large sigh and turned to the table in the hope of finding something passable to drink. He made his way towards the bowl of questionable punch where a large bulgarian was pouring drinks into two small glass cups. He had, of course, met Viktor Krum before. His father had made a point of bringing him to all the most important quidditch games. It would be rude (according to his mother) to not say hello.

"Hello, Krum."

Krum gave him a slightly confused look. "You are the Malfoy boy, correct?" The Malfoy boy? Who exactly did this Krum think he was?

"Yes, Draco Malfoy. We attended your game in Lisbon the other week. Spectacular feint." Draco could see Krum's eyes glaze over as if he'd heard this exact statement on repeat and had no desire do have the conversation again. Hoping to prolong the conversation and have something to report back to his parents he tried another tactic. "I see you brought Granger to this."

Krum's entire face became animated at the name. "Hermowninny was very gracious to agree to attend this lovely Yule celebration with me. Is she not a most magnificent woman?"

Draco had to work very hard to not snort the punch he had just sipped all over the bulgarian. Krum thought the mudblood was _magnificent_? Was there something wrong with him? Had he received a massive head injury as a child? "Well, um... yes, I suppose she is rather interesting." She had punched him in third year after all. Her willingness to take her life into her own hands was very interesting.

As Krum continued to blather on about Granger Draco took a moment to locate her in the crowd. She was standing next to stupid Potter and his stupid sidekick Weasley as expected. Potter and Weasley appeared to have both managed to lose their dates. Typical and expected.

While Potter and Weasley look about as happy to be at the ball as Draco himself, Granger was practically glowing. Her excitement was electric and for reasons he could not quite fathom Draco began to feel a little fluttering in the pit of his stomach. He did have to admit that the mudblood cleaned up rather nicely. The periwinkle of her dress suited her well and who knew that the birds nest on her head was tamable? She must have sensed his stare because she gave up trying to coax the witless wonders in to enjoying themselves and looked right back to Draco.

Krum's voice broke through Draco's concentration. "Well," Draco whipped his head in Krum's direction. Had he been caught staring at the formidable man's date? No, Krum was oblivious as usual. "I must return to Hermowninny, now. It was a pleasure meeting you again young Malfoy."

"Yeah... pleasure... whatever." Draco glanced back in Granger's direction. She was giving him a rather quizzical look. Their eyes locked for a moment before she gave him a soft smile and focused her attention on Krum.

"Stupid mudblood. Try as she might she'll never fit in with high society." His words lacked the conviction they might have had not even ten minutes ago. "Enough of this ball. I have plenty to convince my mother that I had just a smashing time." Draco stalked across the dance floor disrupting many couples on the way and stormed out the doors of the great hall. But as loud as he stomped and as quickly as he descended into the dungeons he couldn't quite wipe her smile out of his mind.


End file.
